The Growing ‘Posh-Poor Divide’: The Way Prosperity and Deprivation Now Sit Side by Side in Across England.

Within a postwar estate known as ‘The Nunny’, residents occupy homes only a few metres from their more affluent counterparts in the adjacent Scartho. One six-foot-tall barricade literally divides the two communities in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, sealing off roads and walkways that previously linked them.

“It’s the divide between rich and poor,” said Serenity Colley, 37. “It has been there for as long as I’ve known. I doubt they’ll take it down because I don’t think they’ll want to mix with us.”

A Stark National Picture

Analysis of government figures shows the extent of inequality often exists, at times across little more than a short distance of asphalt, a line of hedges or a barrier. Decades of austerity and lack of funding mean almost two-thirds of local authorities now have a locality ranking as one of the most deprived in the nation.

This geographical widening of poverty has coincided with a significant rise in the number of places where deprived and affluent residents find themselves as immediate neighbours. In 2019, just 65 of the most deprived neighbourhoods bordered one of the wealthiest. This number rose to 119 in the most recent data.

A Barrier Which Divides More Than Land

At this Lincolnshire site, the gap is the biggest in the UK and painfully apparent. The barrier is much more than a metaphorical divide; it creates very real difficulties for everyday life.

• School runs that should take 15-20 minutes become an sixty-minute detour.
• Access to important services like supermarkets, schools and employment centres is hindered.
• The area often sees antisocial behaviour, with reports of litter being dumped over the wall and related issues.

“You try to have a well-kept home and garden, and then you live opposite that,” noted one resident, gesturing towards the corroded barricade.

Community Spirit Against a Backdrop of Challenges

Within a local community centre, staff stress that support transcends addresses. “Your postcode doesn’t necessarily indicate your personal struggles,” said chief executive a community leader.

Regardless of ranking in the most deprived 10% for income, employment, education, health and crime, Nunsthorpe retains a strong sense and feeling of togetherness among its residents. By contrast, the neighbouring area ranks among the most prosperous 10% overall.

A Similar Story: Stanhope in Ashford

This pattern is mirrored across the country. The Stanhope estate in Ashford, Kent, a 1960s overspill estate, is in the 10% most deprived of neighbourhoods in the country. It is immediately adjacent by spacious detached homes built in the 2000s that are in the top 10% for employment and living environment.

“They might have larger properties, but here there’s more community,” commented a long-term resident, aged 63. “You’ll probably find many people over there don’t even speak to each other.”

The economic divide is evident: an typical family home sells for about £275,000 on the Stanhope estate, while on the other side equivalent properties go for about £410,000.

Locals speak of a palpable feeling of neglect. “This part of the community gets ignored,” said resident Susan. “Over here our facilities have slowly been taken away, and the majority of the issues we face here are related to financial hardship.”

The increase in these ‘deprivation divides’ paints a picture of an ever more segregated society, where prosperity and need are frequently awkwardly close neighbours.